Pediatrics
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There is little consistency in the use of instruments for measuring self-reported quality of life (QoL) in young children. ⋯ The reviewed studies demonstrated that, even for younger children, both child and parent perspectives are essential to understanding the impact of a condition on a child's QoL.
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Meta Analysis
Bacterial prevalence and antimicrobial prescribing trends for acute respiratory tract infections.
Antimicrobials are frequently prescribed for acute respiratory tract infections (ARTI), although many are viral. We aimed to determine bacterial prevalence rates for 5 common childhood ARTI - acute otitis media (AOM), sinusitis, bronchitis, upper respiratory tract infection, and pharyngitis- and to compare these rates to nationally representative antimicrobial prescription rates for these ARTI. ⋯ An estimated 27.4% of US children who have ARTI have bacterial illness in the post-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine era. Antimicrobials are prescribed almost twice as often as expected during outpatient ARTI visits, representing an important target for ongoing antimicrobial stewardship interventions.
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Pediatric bioethics presumes that decisions should be taken in the child's best interest. If it's ambiguous whether a decision is in the child's interest, we defer to parents. Should parents be permitted to consider their own interests in making decisions for their child? In the Netherlands, where neonatal euthanasia is legal, such questions sometimes arise in deciding whether to hasten the death of a critically ill, suffering child. We describe the recommendations of a national Dutch committee. Our objectives were to analyze the role of competing child and family interests and to provide guidance on end-of-life decisions for doctors caring for severely ill newborns. ⋯ New national recommendations in the Netherlands for end-of-life decisions in newborns suggest that treatment should generally be seen as conditional. If treatment fails, it should be abandoned. In those cases, palliative care should be directed at both infant and parental suffering. Sometimes, this may permit interventions that hasten death.
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Multicenter Study
Health care-associated infections among critically ill children in the US, 2007-2012.
Health care-associated infections (HAIs) are harmful and costly and can result in substantial morbidity for hospitalized children; however, little is known about national trends in HAIs in neonatal and pediatric populations. Our objective was to determine the incidence of HAIs among a large sample of hospitals in the United States caring for critically ill children from 2007 to 2012. ⋯ Between 2007 and 2012 there were substantial reductions in HAIs among hospitalized neonates and children.
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To describe the design features, utilization, and outcomes of a protocol treating children with status asthmaticus with continuous albuterol in the inpatient setting. ⋯ With appropriate support structures and care processes, continuous albuterol can be delivered effectively in the non-ICU, inpatient setting with low rates of adverse outcomes. Certain initial clinical characteristics may help identify patients needing more intensive therapy.